Due to limitations (e.g. airflow, noise level, etc.) of air cooling, use of liquid cooling is drawing an increasing interest from the information and communication technologies industry. One of the challenges of liquid cooling applications is its common use of quick-(dis)connects (QDs) that require manual manipulation for disconnecting fluid couplings.
Prior art FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a router 100 that includes a liquid cooling system 102 adapted for removably coupling with line cards 104 for cooling purposes, in accordance with the prior art. In use, the line cards 104 are equipped for being removably positioned within the router 100 and thereby removably coupled to the liquid cooling system 102. To facilitate such removable coupling, a manual fluid coupling assembly 106 is provided for allowing a user, with one or more manual manipulations, to removably couple fluid connectors between the line cards 104 and the liquid cooling system 102.
Prior art FIG. 2 is a side view of the manual fluid coupling assembly 106 that is designed for removably coupling the line cards 104 with the liquid cooling system 102 for cooling purposes, in accordance with the prior art. During such removable coupling, a user is required to manipulate the lever 202, as well as a lock 204 to effect (de-)coupling.
Thus, the state-of-the-art of QD design involves complicated moving of mechanical components, and additional manual steps when compared with air-cooled printed circuit boards (PCBs). Such additional moving mechanical components, in turn, make liquid cooling system design, using QDs, more expensive and more prone to mechanical failures and malfunctions, as compared to air-cooled designs. Further, the additional manual steps require more training and operation time, thus increasing maintenance costs.
There is thus a need for addressing these and/or other issues associated with the prior art.